I'm sorry if this was covered, but did any of the sites ask about the whereabouts of all of the Fall 2011 WalMart exclusives? (deluxe sets, DVD 2-packs, "ultimate" Clone Wars gift set)?

And if so, what was the answer?

No one asked about them this round I don't think, but JTA ran a pretty cool investigative report a week or two back that explored this very question.

Essentially, no one has any idea where these things are hiding, but they are not cancelled. Hasbro says they should be on the shelves already, based on some kind of "available by" date. Walmart does not have the UPC #'s for any of them in their computers yet though.

Obviously the things have been produced, packaged and shipped, but they're probably in that warehouse next to the Lost Ark of the Covenant.

Most speculation seems to be that these things were possibly held back by Walmart to be released closer to the holidays, but being that next week is Thanksgiving, it would be stupid of them to wait much longer, IMO.

I liked Scum's answer on the Noghri/Wookiee pack... I've really wanted to get that set. It is probably the ONLY set I was really excited about back at the end of the line. Of course, it's the set to get canned.

So now we are here with word they like it, it's not tooled, but they're gonna try getting it out. That sounds promising. I'm down for probably 3 of it anyway.

I get it, the heat is on the movie, so invest there. It's too bad we won't see as much from the CW line, which let's face it, has been the engine of the brand for a few years now. It's also been very fun, which the movie stuff simply isn't. It's more work, or obligation sometimes, until something comes along like the Gammie Guard or Ponda Baba and you're amazed that you can be amazed.

Another site's Q&A says no Ackbar or Tarkin planned...sadly, that's not surprising.

You mean CW, right? They hinted that the TVC Tarkin will be revealed maybe relatively soon...

Q2. Dear Hasbro , When are you going to finally put out Grand Moff Tarkin from A New Hope on a Vintage Card? That figure has been rumored to be on a vintage collection cardback for years since the vintage collection line started and we still haven’t gotten it yet. When can we expect to see its release and what accessories will he include? Will he be released in the 2012 Movie Heroes assortment as well? And since we’ve waited so long, how about an image of the carded figure?

A2. We agree that Grand Moff Tarkin is an excellent candidate for a carded Vintage Collection figure…expect more details at New York Toy Fair.

I was thinking, 19 figures for CW, it just doesn't seem like it adds up. Unless I'm missing something, since there are 12 figures in a case, the majority of the 2012 line will be available 1/30 and ship for the rest of the year. More or less. Aside from say 4 or 5 figures sometime in the fall most likely, the line will be awfully stagnant.

Yeah, it's weak sauce for sure. When they switched to the Shadows of the Darkside packaging back in 2010, 15 of the first 19 carded Clone Wars figures released were straight repacks. They always seem to frontload the line like this with a reset.

I could see them trawling out 14 figures for the first two waves of the year, and then 5 more figures in a separate wave to keep us all occupied from April-December.

Three whole waves for 2012...is this what the Mayans were talking about?

I think because CW is aimed at kids, that they don't really need to make many more figures. Sure, I could think of dozens I'd like, but the kids want the clones, and heroes. At this point, the line should be mostly profit with little development of new product. It's a cash cow.